PSNStores Games & Shames: November 2011

To be honest, not many PSN games were released this month. This made for a tough decision when choosing the games and shames. While most of us editors were wasting away with limited releases, Ben has been reviewing all these retails games, so I cut him some slack and let him choose from those. So what do you think? What were your favorite games from the month of November?

Game: Where Is My Heart?

There hasn’t been a Minis game that I would recommend for people buy in quite some time, but Where Is My Heart? definitely is one not to miss. The mix of platforming with mind-bending puzzle solving makes this game quite a treat to play. The music and visual aesthetics make this game not just a great game to play, but also one that is great to look at. Some might call it charming, but we don’t do that ’round these parts. If you missed out on getting the game for free via PlayStation Plus, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Shame: Jurassic Park: The Game

As a huge fan of the Jurassic Park series I was rather disappointed with Telltale’s effort in making Jurassic Park an adventure game. While I did enjoy the story, all of the technical problems hampered my enjoyment of the title. Frame rate and sound problems, the framerate especially, had me almost in a rage over missed button inputs. Oh yea did I mention this is pretty much just Dragon’s Lair or Space Ace with a Jurassic Park paint of coat over it? Punishing quick-time events are not what I look for when playing a game. While John Hammond “spared no expense” in making Jurassic Park, you should keep your money tucked away tightly in your wallet.

Game: Where Is My Heart?

This minis title came out of nowhere for me. I wasn’t keeping up with Die Gute Fabrik, so I didn’t see the game until the PS Blog spotlighted it. It released a week later (free for + members), and a few days after that I was home nursing a hangover. What can I play to pass the time? Oh yeah, Curtis said that minis game was fairly solid, let’s check it out. A couple of hours went by and at the exact moment that I was ready to take a break (the game gets rather challenging later on), I reached the final level. Where is my Heart takes a unique, visually disorienting puzzle concept and twists and turns it each and every way. Add in a Lost Vikings style of character-swapping, precise platforming and you get a mini game that’s actually worth its relatively pricey tag ($7). If you’re in the market for a puzzle platformer, buy Where is my Heart. The experience is worth every penny.

Shame: Jurassic Park: The Game

I have vivid memories of seeing Jurassic Park in theaters when it released. I went with my grandmother and almost shat my pants during the kitchen scene. TellTale Games (known for their catalog of adventure titles) announced a JP game and I was on board in an instant. Playing through the first episode, I realized a few things. First off, Jurassic Park isn’t an adventure game. I’m fine with that. While there are some search-the-scene portions, much of the core gameplay rests in the quicktime event cutscenes. Like Heavy Rain, right? I’m down with that. This could actually work really well with a Jurassic Park wrapper. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before my disbelief was no longer suspended. Choppy framerate issues abound, and every time the graphics skipped (or stayed still in the case of a few pre-loading screen scenes), I was reminded that I’m not having a cinematic Jurassic Park experience, which I think is what they were going for. Instead, I constantly felt like I was playing a game (in the most negative way possible). Mash the X button to open this door before a dinosaur swipes you, hold L1 and tap the left analogue stick down to climb a hill, etc. etc. etc. The worst part is that some of the commands (I’m looking at you, right analogue quarter-circle sweep) weren’t recognized half of the time. If the framerate were smoothed out and some of the fat cut from the meat, this would be a great game. I’m not interested in playing through the other episodes if it’s going to play like this the whole time, though. No, I’d rather replay Heavy Rain.

Game: Uncharted 3

Ok, so this one was easy. In Uncharted 3 Naughty Dog has managed to further their cinematic ambitions to an incredible degree, creating one of the most tightly paced and downright exhilarating games in recent memory. Constantly throwing beautiful new locations and crazy gameplay scenarios at you, it sets a pace that it’s only too happy to keep up with for the course of its adventure. Of course, the multiplayer is fast and fun, and the co-op experience is just plain fun, especially in split screen with a friend. Naughty Dog patched the game recently, improving the somewhat maligned controls significantly, and adding motion blur back in, which was conspicuously absent from the retail release. It’s a wonderful adventure, and deserves a spot in your collection.

Shame: Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest

Medieval Moves’ controls are great, when you’re not under incredible amounts of pressure to get them right. However, there’s barely a moment in Deadmund’s jovial jaunt in which you’re not being besieged by foes, so those controls quickly devolve into a frustration filled flailing session. Pulling out throwing stars when you want to shoot an arrow is annoying the first time, aggravating the fifth time, and just plain broken the twentieth time. There’s even a multiplayer mode in which you can get frustrated with a buddy by your side. Although, I think getting somebody I don’t like to play this game with me would be a good way of getting back at them. If you’re played the demo, you’ve experienced the game’s content, just in a condensed way. Don’t waste your money, you’ll only be disappointed.

Game: Pinballistik

A pinball game that won’t make you shell out more than the quarters you would likely spend playing at a real table. Pinbalistik also has one of the most interesting takes on multiplayer pinball that I have ever seen. This title is much more than your typical score chaser. Here’s looking forward to some more new DLC tables.

Shame: Hydrophobia Prophecy

The developers really think they have something here. They may have tried to tune this thing into something better, but it still sorely lacks in fun. Curtis and I said it best that this game does a great job at existing. It’s there, it’s bland, and it’ll take 4 hours away from you that you won’t get back. Even at its cheap price-point, I cannot recommend it. Hydrophobia fails to excel at anything it sets out to accomplish.

Game: Where Is My Heart?

We don’t get these often but Where is my Heart? is a Minis game that you shouldn’t pass up on. It’s a solid puzzle game with a unique mechanic that, as mentioned in my review, is always challenging yet never overwhelming. Not to mention that the music and art-style in the game are just fantastic. Where is my Heart? is definitely the most satisfying game of November.

Shame: Hydrophobia Prophecy

Not trying to make a pun here but nearly everything about Hydrophobia really is a shame. This is the third iteration of a game and it’s still an incomplete and broken mess. Even though the idea of escaping a sinking ship could work really well it’s thrown out in favor of boring gun-heavy gameplay. When I wasn’t frustrated by the controls I was left bored out of my mind. And when the game ended I was simply left wondering what happened to the ‘all new ending’ this version had.

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